W/C RATE HIKE PROPOSED

Following the July 31 submission of its annual pure premium rate filing to the California Insurance Commissioner, the nonprofit Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (WCIRB) proposed an average increase in pure premium rates of 5.5 percent, effective Jan. 1, 2001. Robert G. Mike, WCIRB president, expressed the group’s concern with the volatility of recent development patterns. Mike advised that insurer average statewide rates for 2000, as reported March 31, 2000, are approximately 7 percent below pure premium rates and 30 percent less than the projected cost of benefits and total insurer expenses. A public hearing has been scheduled for Sept. 21 by the California Department of Insurance (CDI) in San Francisco to consider the proposed changes.